It will probably be dark by the time you’re done speaking to Lord Radzig, so it’s a good idea to go back to the mill and get some sleep. The next morning, you can either head East from the mill or go back into Rattay’s Lower Gate and go through the walled town and out through the Upper Gate by the other castle.

Captain Bernard should show up at the training grounds at around 8 in the morning. Speak to him to start your real training, and you can choose either to start with the basics or go right into the advanced training if you think you know what you’re doing.

After the basics - moving, attacking, stabbing, and chain strikes, Bernard will ask you to start defending yourself. You may have noticed all the time you’ve been attacking, he’s been moving his sword to the same side to shrug off your attacks.

Do the same here - watch which position he moves his sword to, and once he starts swinging, make sure you press the block button in that angle before it hits. Simply holding down block all day will drain your stamina until you can’t keep up anymore.

After this, he’ll challenge you to put your skills to the test in a free fight. This will not end well, as Bernard is a master of stringing endless combo attacks together, while easily parrying and riposte your attacks. Bet you wish you could do that.

Lucky for you, that’s the next lesson, after fighting for a bit, your health will be restored and training will continue. The next trick is how to get through an opponent’s defenses - attack where their weapon (or shield) is not. If he goes high, you go low, and vice-versa.

Finally, Bernard will tell you that you’ve been blocking all wrong. There’s more to it than just matching an opponent’s stance. This time, when he attacks, you’ll now see a little shield icon in the center of your attack diagram.

Press block when the shield is lit up green to expertly block his attack wil expending no stamina. At first, he’ll attack slow, but later he’ll speed up to give you an idea of the real thing.

Eventually Lord Capon will interrupt to let Bernard know he’s going to train in archery. You’ll join him soon, but first, a few last trick. Sometimes the best defense is simply not to get hit at all. If you see an attack coming that you might not be able to shift your weapon to block in time, you can tap the direction to the side or back to sidestep the blow at the last moment, as you would do with a perfect block.

Finally, when up against a keen opponent, getting through their guard may be tough. But after you extend your blade, you can shift the location of your swing at the last second to perform a feint and evade an otherwise effective block.

After melee combat is done with, follow Bernard back into Rattay and under the upper castle’s drawbridge to the archery range.

He’ll give you a bow to test out, as well as Vambraces - these are important to equip when wielding a bow so you don’t damage your arms!

Note that you have a training bow and arrows, so they won’t fly as high or as far - compensate by drawing in, aiming slightly higher than the target and have the arrow point a bit to the right, and loosing before you arm starts to wobble and you lose stamina.

After a few hits or misses, Bernard will comment on your performance, and Sir Hans will take the chance to mock you, and Henry will mouth off and land himself in hot water. However, Sir Capon will take the opportunity to challenge you - whoever makes the most of 7 shots win. If by some miracle you win, you get his bow, otherwise you have to pay up 2 Groschens.

You get 1 point for hitting the edges, 2 for hitting the white circle, and 3 for a bullseye in the black. Hans isn’t just all talk, he’s likely to score around 10 or higher, which can make things tough. However he may miss a lot of his shots and blame it on his “heavy hand”.

After the archery bout, he’ll try to prove himself again in the combat arena, to which you pretty much have no choice - but hey, another chance to show him up, right?

Use the tools you learned to perfectly dodge or block his attacks, and follow up with short combos or feints, then retreat to conserve stamina. He’s pretty good at blocking most attacks, and will often have a perfect block of his own, to which he’ll follow up with a riposte that you can only fend off with a perfect block of your own.

However, he’s fairly susceptible to stabbing attacks - just make sure to vary them in, and disrupt him when he goes for a slow strike.

Defeat him, and you’ll earn Capon’s Hunting Bow as he grumbles and leaves, or he will taunt you if he is victorious.

Either way, you’ll have gained some valuable experience in Strength, Warfare, Swords, Defense, and Vitality. Be sure to check your player stats and picks some perks if any are unlocked.

Talk to Bernard afterwards and he’ll send you to the Bailiff for your guard duty. Note that before leaving, the tent nearby has a Lords of Lepia Shield (you’d have to steal it), and some arrows in a barrel (free to take).

The Baliff works out of the second floor of an area on the West side of the city, South of the church at a place called the Rathaus. Note that the bottom three buildings house an armorsmith, weaponsmith, tailor, and alchemist.

It’s worth checking on these merchants to see the exotic things they sell, and note that they can help repair your armor and clothing. The apothecary sells potions (and still needs payment for keeping you alive), and can point you in the direction learning how to read.

Head up the stairs between the buildings to find the second floor office, and speak with the Bailiff.

You can recount your training to him, and ask to be placed on guard duty - and he has a job in mind for you, and will pay you upfront a few Groschen.